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Thursday, 5 April 2012

What Every Villain Needs

As writers we're sometimes so preoccupied with making our protagonist tangible enough to jump off the page that we forget about the antagonist. Villains create conflict, therefore they are essential to any good story, and deserve to be fleshed out as much as your hero.

There's nothing more unsatisfying than reading about a bad guy whose only purpose is to be...well bad. Even though he-who-must-not-be-named was truly evil, J.K. Rowling made sure to show how his past explained his cruelty.

So, does your evil doer have the right stuff? Scroll down to see what every villain needs.

1. A diabolical plan. There has to be a reason for their nastiness—being mean isn't enough.

Ann Coulter was in "The Golden Compass?" GTFO. Might've watched that one if I'd known that. Chick's scarry, just saying.

I would quibble with KT on redeeming qualities. All too often, redeeming qualities read tacked on, a la Hannible Lecter's determination to better/heal/upgrade Clarice but not Will Graham. Of greater concern, for me, is competence. Don't get me wrong, an anti-(uncle?)-hero must have a redeeming quality to open the door to redemption before slamming it on all his/her hopes and dreams, a la Blanche Dubois/Stanley Kowalski. However, above all else, the big-bad must be competent. Which I believe counts as #5.

Crazy (more commonly applied now days than evil) isn't enough. The Joker, contrary to his assertion, has a plan, Voldemort has a plan and Lecter has a (meal) plan.